NEWARK, NY -- IEC Electronics today reported revenues of $21.2 million for its first first quarter ended Dec. 29, up 1% from a year ago.

The net loss was $500,000, an improvement from a loss of $900,000 a year ago.

Gross profit margin was down 140 basis points to 7.2% on higher selling and administrative expenses. The company recorded a net tax benefit of approximately $1 million in the quarter due to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

“Our fiscal 2018 first quarter revenue results were disappointing in terms of conversion of backlog," said Jeffrey T. Schlarbaum, president and CEO. "As we continue to build momentum on our path to growth, we entered the fiscal quarter with a high percentage of new programs that were scheduled to be manufactured. We encountered several challenges, both internally and externally, that inhibited the execution of the plan, including global supply chain challenges associated with component shortages as well as customer-controlled delays associated with the overall on-boarding process. That being said, despite the lower than expected conversion rate in the fiscal 2018 first quarter, we are optimistic about the remainder of fiscal 2018 as we see our sales pipeline and backlog continue to grow.

“The rate at which our company is experiencing new programs and backlog growth is something that has not been experienced in many years and at times, might make our execution plans a bit unpredictable due to the complexity of the on-boarding process as well as the global electronic component supply situation."